Security Awareness Training Blog

Ransomware Blog

Keeping you updated on the latest ransomware attack vectors, strains, decryptors, families and trends to help you avoid becoming infected.

PokemonGo Ransomware installs Backdoor Account and Spreads to other Drives

With the popularity of PokemonGo, it was inevitable that a malware developer would create a ransomware that impersonates it. This is the case with a new Hidden-Tear ransomware discovered ...
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Hitler ransomware just deletes files instead of encrypting them

Security experts detected and analyzed a new threat, the Hitler ransomware, that doesn’t encrypt files but simply deletes them. Larry Abrams at Bleepingcomputer commented: " It looks like ...
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July 2016 Ransomware Roundup: New Strains And New Nasty Features

The ransomware market is rapidly maturing, we start seeing upgraded strains and rebranded versions sold cheaply in the Dark Web. And mainstream media have finally glommed on after years ...
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When the Bad Guys Go to Ransomware B-School

By Eric Howes, KnowBe4 Principal Lab Researcher. As we have documented numerous times in this space over the past few years, the bad guys have proven to be relentless innovators, ...
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The Latest from Black Hat 2016: Ransomware By the Numbers

The annual Black Hat security conference always produces a wealth of interesting papers, presentations, talks, live demos, and security news. This year's Black Hat USA 2016 event, which ...
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New Ransomware-as-a-Service Offering Goes Live

The cybermafia behind the Petya/Mischa ransomware just launched their RaaS offering July 25th. It pays "distributors" a part of the ransom that gets extorted from victims and increases ...
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Criminal Ransomware Now Cheaper Than Standard Antivirus

For just $39 you, too, can have your very own ransomware with a lifetime license. What does a year's subscription to one of the major antivirus cost? Last I checked, much more than $39. ...
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Locky Ransomware Encrypts Files Even When Machine Is Offline

Locky is currently one of the top 3 ransomware threats, following closely behind CryptoWall. It's not surprising that this strain has undergone several updates since the beginning of the ...
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Lazy Ransomware Bad Guys Just Delete Your Files - Never Mind Decrypting

There is a new strain of "ransomware" that does not bother with the whole encryption thing at all. These bad guys seem to think it's just an unnecessary distraction and too much work. ...
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July 2016 Ransomware Roundup: New Strains And New Nasty Features

The ransomware market is rapidly maturing, we start seeing upgraded strains and rebranded versions sold cheaply in the Dark Web. And mainstream media have finally glommed on after years ...
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Doh! New "Bart" Ransomware from Threat Actors Spreading Dridex and Locky

Proofpoint researchers discovered a new strain of ransomware called "Bart" - no kidding. The Russian Cyber Mafia behind Dridex 220 and Locky are using the RockLoader malware to download ...
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[ZERO DAY ALERT] Ransomware Targets MS Office 365 Users

Apparently, MS Office 365 built-in security tools are not cutting it. A new strain of the Cerber Ransomware is now targeting MS Office 365 email users with a massive zero-day attack that ...
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Russian Cyber Mafia Is Back From Vacation With Smarter Locky Ransomware Strain

Threatpost reported that the notorious Necurs botnet is back in business, after mysteriously going dark for nearly a month. Researchers report the Necurs has returned to spewing massive ...
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New KnowBe4 Survey: Ransomware Infections Double In Two Years

We have just released the first long-time study focusing on IT Pros experience with ransomware. In June 2016 we surveyed 1,138 companies in a variety of industries and compared your ...
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Expect Micro Ransomware: Extortion One Document At A Time

I have been following the development of ransomware closely since September 2013 when the ransomware plague was unleashed on the internet in the form of CryptoLocker and its copycats. At ...
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New RAA Ransomware Strain Created Entirely Using Javascript

Larry Abrams, who runs Bleepingcomputer was first to report on a new strain of ransomware called RAA. The criminal coders took the somewhat unusual step of writing the whole thing in ...
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Individual ransomware payments skyrocket to a whopping $20,000

Heads-up! Individual ransomware payments are getting very expensive. Companies are stockpiling Bitcoin in case they are hit, and a new low-profile strain of ransomware is actually causing ...
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Yikes: Ransomware scam targets lawyers with phony ethics complaints

Mike Mosedale at the Minnesota Lawyer wrote: "Talk about your dirty tricks. A new internet scam is targeting lawyers by exploiting one of their great fears: getting slapped with a ...
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UltraDeCrypter Ransomware DOES NOT Decrypt Your Files

KnowBe4 gets regular calls from system admins who found us on the internet that are between a rock and a hard place. Backups failed and they have no way to revert to normal files. Worse, ...
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[ALERT] 93% of phishing attacks now have ransomware payloads

Oh boy. Things have gotten from bad to worse in an awful hurry. I remember the first time I reported on ransomware in the CyberheistNews Issue Feb 11, 2014, where an attorney's office ...
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